Use of proteins to control molluscs

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure includes proteins toxic to Zebra mussels, its method of production, and uses thereof. The protein was isolated from whole cell broth of  Pseudomonas protegens  CL145A via anion exchange chromatographic fractionation. The protein was found to be a secondary metabolite with highest expression at the fermentative production harvest stage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation application of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 15/577,442, filed Nov. 28, 2017, which is a National Stage of International Application Ser. No. PCT/US2016/033945 filed on May 24, 2016, and claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/167,860 filed on May 28, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated in reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates in general to the field of proteins having molluscicidal activity.

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH

None.

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIALS FILED ON COMPACT DISC

None.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in connection with proteins having molluscicidal. The ability of the mussels to quickly colonize new areas, rapidly achieve high densities and attach to any hard substratum (e.g., rocks, logs, aquatic plants, shells of native mussels, exoskeletons of crayfish, plastic, concrete, wood, fiberglass, pipes made of iron and polyvinyl chloride and surfaces covered with conventional paints) make it possible for them to cause serious adverse consequences. These consequences include damages of water-dependent infrastructure, millions of dollars increase in the operating expense and significant damage to the ecological systems.

Management of mussels is very important for protecting water-dependent infrastructure and aquatic ecological systems. There are many proactive and reactive methods to control and reduce the populations of mussels. Reactive removal includes the mechanical removal, predator removal, and chemical and biochemical removal of adult mussels. For example, fish, birds, crayfish, crabs, leeches and mammals have shown to predate mussels. However, it is unlikely that invasive mussel populations will be controlled by natural predation, especially in man-made structures such as pipes or pumping plants. Proactive measures to control mussels includes any mechanical, physical or chemical means in which the planktonic (veliger) mussel life stage is prevented from settling and growing into the adult life stage or colonizing on hard substrates. Preventing mussels from colonizing and growing into adult life stages is also referred to as settlement prevention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a method for controlling molluscs in a liquid location comprising administering an effective amount of a composition having protein that is 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 1, to control said mollusk at said liquid location. The liquid location can be a body of water or paint, or in pipes filled with liquid.

In one aspect the protein has 90%, 95%, 98%, 99%, or 100% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 1.

In another aspect the protein has 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 99.5%, 99.9% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 1.

In another aspect, the present disclosure denotes the composition that can further comprise gamma-dodecalactone, delta-tridecalactone, piliferolide A, alpha-heptyl-gamma-butyrolactone or 11-hydroxy-12-ene-octadecanoic acid.

Yet in another aspect, the said composition further comprises an inert material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention, reference is now made to the detailed description of the invention along with the accompanying figures and in which:

FIG. 1 denotes a plot of the mussel mortality of the cell lysates vs. the days of the mussel assay.

FIG. 2 denotes at least three HMW proteins >260 kDa where expression correlates to the mussel mortality in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plot of the fraction activity.

FIG. 4 is the SDS-PAGE of the fractions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the making and using of various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of the invention.

To facilitate the understanding of this invention, a number of terms are defined below. Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as “a”, “an” and “the” are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but include the general class of which a specific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit the invention, except as outlined in the claims.

As defined herein, “whole broth culture” or “whole cell broth” refers to a liquid culture containing both cells and media. If bacteria are grown on a plate, the cells can be harvested in water or other liquid, whole culture. The terms “whole broth culture” and “whole cell broth” are used interchangeably.

As defined herein, “supernatant” refers to the liquid remaining when cells grown in broth or are harvested in another liquid from an agar plate and are removed by centrifugation, filtration, sedimentation, or other means well known in the art.

As defined herein, “filtrate” refers to liquid from a whole broth culture that has passed through a membrane.

As defined herein, “extract” refers to liquid substance removed from cells by a solvent (water, detergent, buffer, organic solvent) and separated from the cells by centrifugation, filtration or other method.

As defined herein, “metabolite” refers to a compound, substance or byproduct of a fermentation of a microorganism, or supernatant, filtrate, or extract obtained from a microorganism that has pesticidal and particularly, molluscicidal activity.

As defined herein, “carrier” is an inert, organic or inorganic material, with which the active ingredient is mixed or formulated to facilitate its application to plant or other object to be treated, or its storage, transport and/or handling.

As defined herein, “controlling molluscs” means controlling the eggs, larvae, veligers and post-veligers of the molluscs by killing or disabling them so that they cannot colonize, grow, establish, or reproduce in a given location.

As defined herein, “derived from” and “obtainable from” means directly isolated or obtained from a particular source or alternatively having identifying characteristics of a substance or organism isolated or obtained from a particular source. These terms are used interchangeably throughout the specification.

As defined herein, an “isolated compound” is essentially free of other compounds or substances, e.g., at least about 20% pure, preferably at least about 40% pure, more preferably about 60% pure, even more preferably about 80% pure, most preferably about 90% pure, and even most preferably about 95% pure, as determined by analytical methods, including but not limited to chromatographic methods, electrophoretic methods. The skilled artisan will recognize that the percentages may be of any incremental value between 20-100%,and each and every value covered in that range need not be specifically listed herein.

As defined herein, a “nucleic acid molecule”, is intended to include DNA molecules and RNA molecules. A nucleic acid molecule may be single-stranded or double-stranded, but preferably is double-stranded DNA.

As defined herein, a “vector”, is intended to refer to a nucleic acid molecule capable of transporting another nucleic acid to which it has been linked. One type of vector is a “plasmid”, which refers to a circular double stranded DNA loop into which additional DNA segments may be ligated. Another type of vector is a viral vector, wherein additional DNA segments may be ligated into the viral genome. Certain vectors are capable of autonomous replication in a host cell into which they are introduced (e.g., bacterial vectors having a bacterial origin of replication and episomal mammalian vectors). Other vectors (e.g., non-episomal mammalian vectors) can be integrated into the genome of a host cell upon introduction into the host cell, and thereby are replicated along with the host genome. Moreover, certain vectors are capable of directing the expression of genes to which they are operatively linked. Such vectors are referred to herein as “recombinant expression vectors” (or simply, “expression vectors”). In general, expression vectors of utility in recombinant DNA techniques are often in the form of plasmids. In the present specification, “plasmid” and “vector” may be used interchangeably as the plasmid is the most commonly used form of vector. However, the invention is intended to include such other forms of expression vectors, such as viral vectors (e.g., replication defective retroviruses, adenoviruses and adeno-associated viruses), which serve equivalent functions.

As defined herein, the terms “recombinant host cell” and “transformed host cell” are used interchangeably and refer to a cell into which a recombinant expression vector and/or an isolated nucleic acid molecule has been introduced. It should be understood that such terms are intended to refer not only to the particular subject cell but also to the progeny of such a cell. Because certain modifications may occur in succeeding generations due to either mutation or environmental influences, such progeny may not, in fact, be identical to the parent cell, but are still included within the scope of the term “host cell” as used herein.

The following terms are used to describe the sequence relationships between a polynucleotide/polypeptide of the present invention with a reference polynucleotide/polypeptide: (a) “reference sequence”, (b) “comparison window”, (c) “sequence identity”, and (d) “percentage of sequence identity”.

As used herein, “reference sequence” is a defined sequence used as a basis for sequence comparison with a polynucleotide/polypeptide of the present invention. A reference sequence may be a subset or the entirety of a specified sequence; for example, as a segment of a full-length cDNA or gene sequence, or the complete cDNA or gene sequence.

As used herein, “comparison window” includes reference to a contiguous and specified segment of a polynucleotide/polypeptide sequence, wherein the polynucleotide/polypeptide sequence may be compared to a reference sequence and wherein the portion of the polynucleotide/polypeptide sequence in the comparison window may comprise additions or deletions (i.e., gaps) compared to the reference sequence (which does not comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the two sequences. Generally, the comparison window is at least 20 contiguous nucleotides/amino acids residues in length, and optionally can be 30, 40, 50, 100, or longer. Those of skill in the art understand that to avoid a high similarity to a reference sequence due to inclusion of gaps in the polynucleotide/polypeptide sequence, a gap penalty is typically introduced and is subtracted from the number of matches.

Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well-known in the art. Optimal alignment of sequences for comparison may be conducted by the local homology algorithm of

Smith and Waterman, Adv. Appl. Math. 2:482 (1981); by the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch, J. Mol. Biol. 48:443 (1970); by the search for similarity method of Pearson and Lipman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 85:2444 (1988); by computerized implementations of these algorithms, including, but not limited to: CLUSTAL in the PC/Gene program by Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif.; GAP, BESTFIT, BLAST, FASTA, and TFASTA in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package, Genetics Computer Group (GCG), 575 Science Dr., Madison, Wis., USA; the CLUSTAL program is well described by Higgins and Sharp, Gene 73:237-244 (1988); Higgins and Sharp, CABIOS 5:151-153 (1989); Corpet et al., Nucleic Acids Research 16:10881-90 (1988); Huang et al., Computer Applications in the Biosciences 8:155-65 (1992), and Pearson et al., Methods in Molecular Biology 24:307-331 (1994).

The BLAST family of programs which can be used for database similarity searches includes: BLASTN for nucleotide query sequences against nucleotide database sequences; BLASTX for nucleotide query sequences against protein database sequences; BLASTP for protein query sequences against protein database sequences; TBLASTN for protein query sequences against nucleotide database sequences; and TBLASTX for nucleotide query sequences against nucleotide database sequences. See Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Chapter 19, Ausubel et al., Eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York (1995); Altschul et al., J. Mol. Biol., 215:403-410 (1990); and, Altschul et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389-3402 (1997).

Software for performing BLAST analyses is publicly available, e.g., through the National Center for Biotechnology Information. This algorithm involves first identifying high scoring sequence pairs (HSPs) by identifying short words of length W in the query sequence, which either match or satisfy some positive-valued threshold score T when aligned with a word of the same length in a database sequence. T is referred to as the neighborhood word score threshold. These initial neighborhood word hits act as seeds for initiating searches to find longer HSPs containing them. The word hits are then extended in both directions along each sequence for as far as the cumulative alignment score can be increased. Cumulative scores are calculated using, for nucleotide sequences, the parameters M (reward score for a pair of matching residues; always >0) and N (penalty score for mismatching residues; always <0). For amino acid sequences, a scoring matrix is used to calculate the cumulative score. Extension of the word hits in each direction are halted when: the cumulative alignment score falls off by the quantity X from its maximum achieved value; the cumulative score goes to zero or below, due to the accumulation of one or more negative-scoring residue alignments; or the end of either sequence is reached. The BLAST algorithm parameters W, T, and X determine the sensitivity and speed of the alignment. The BLASTN program (for nucleotide sequences) uses as defaults a word length (W) of 11, an expectation (E) of 10, a cutoff of 100, M=5, N=-4, and a comparison of both strands. For amino acid sequences, the BLASTP program uses as defaults a wordlength (W) of 3, an expectation (E) of 10, and the BLOSUM62 scoring matrix (see Henikoff & Henikoff (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:10915).

In addition to calculating percent sequence identity, the BLAST algorithm also performs a statistical analysis of the similarity between two sequences (see e.g., Karlin & Altschul, Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci. USA 90:5873-5877 (1993)). One measure of similarity provided by the BLAST algorithm is the smallest sum probability (P(N)), which provides an indication of the probability by which a match between two nucleotide or amino acid sequences would occur by chance.

BLAST searches assume that proteins can be modeled as random sequences. However, many real proteins comprise regions of nonrandom sequences which may be homopolymeric tracts, short-period repeats, or regions enriched in one or more amino acids. Such low-complexity regions may be aligned between unrelated proteins even though other regions of the protein are entirely dissimilar. A number of low-complexity filter programs can be employed to reduce such low-complexity alignments. For example, the SEG (Wooten and Federhen, Comput. Chem., 17:149-163 (1993)) and XNU (Clayerie and States, Comput. Chem., 17:191-201 (1993)) low-complexity filters can be employed alone or in combination.

Unless otherwise stated, nucleotide and protein identity/similarity values provided herein are calculated using GAP (GCG Version 10) under default values.

GAP (Global Alignment Program) can also be used to compare a polynucleotide or polypeptide of the present invention with a reference sequence. GAP uses the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (J. Mol. Biol. 48:443-453, 1970) to find the alignment of two complete sequences that maximizes the number of matches and minimizes the number of gaps. GAP considers all possible alignments and gap positions and creates the alignment with the largest number of matched bases and the fewest gaps. It allows for the provision of a gap creation penalty and a gap extension penalty in units of matched bases. GAP must make a profit of gap creation penalty number of matches for each gap it inserts. If a gap extension penalty greater than zero is chosen, GAP must, in addition, make a profit for each gap inserted of the length of the gap times the gap extension penalty. Default gap creation penalty values and gap extension penalty values in Version 10 of the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package for protein sequences are 8 and 2, respectively. For nucleotide sequences the default gap creation penalty is 50 while the default gap extension penalty is 3. The gap creation and gap extension penalties can be expressed as an integer selected from the group of integers consisting of from 0 to 100. Thus, for example, the gap creation and gap extension penalties can each independently be: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 or greater.

GAP presents one member of the family of best alignments. There may be many members of this family, but no other member has a better quality. GAP displays four figures of merit for alignments: Quality, Ratio, Identity, and Similarity. The Quality is the metric maximized in order to align the sequences. Ratio is the quality divided by the number of bases in the shorter segment. Percent Identity is the percent of the symbols that actually match. Percent Similarity is the percent of the symbols that are similar. Symbols that are across from gaps are ignored. A similarity is scored when the scoring matrix value for a pair of symbols is greater than or equal to 0.50, the similarity threshold. The scoring matrix used in Version 10 of the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package is BLOSUM62 (see Henikoff & Henikoff (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:10915).

Multiple alignment of the sequences can be performed using the CLUSTAL method of alignment (Higgins and Sharp (1989) CABIOS. 5:151-153) with the default parameters (GAP PENALTY=10, GAP LENGTH PENALTY=10). Default parameters for pairwise alignments using the CLUSTAL method are KTUPLE 1, GAP PENALTY=3, WINDOW=5 and DIAGONALS SAVED=5.

As used herein, “sequence identity” or “identity” in the context of two nucleic acid or polypeptide sequences includes reference to the residues in the two sequences which are the same when aligned for maximum correspondence over a specified comparison window. When percentage of sequence identity is used in reference to proteins it is recognized that residue positions which are not identical often differ by conservative amino acid substitutions, where amino acid residues are substituted for other amino acid residues with similar chemical properties (e.g., charge or hydrophobicity) and therefore do not change the functional properties of the molecule. Where sequences differ in conservative substitutions, the percent sequence identity may be adjusted upwards to correct for the conservative nature of the substitution. Sequences which differ by such conservative substitutions are said to have “sequence similarity” or “similarity”. Means for making this adjustment are well-known to those of skill in the art. Typically this involves scoring a conservative substitution as a partial rather than a full mismatch, thereby increasing the percentage sequence identity. Thus, for example, where an identical amino acid is given a score of 1 and a non-conservative substitution is given a score of zero, a conservative substitution is given a score between zero and 1. The scoring of conservative substitutions is calculated, e.g., according to the algorithm of Meyers and Miller, Computer Applic. Biol. Sci., 4:11-17 (1988) e.g., as implemented in the program PC/GENE (Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif., USA).

As used herein, “percentage of sequence identity” means the value determined by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over a comparison window, wherein the portion of the polynucleotide sequence in the comparison window may comprise additions or deletions (i.e., gaps) as compared to the reference sequence (which does not comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the two sequences. The percentage is calculated by determining the number of positions at which the identical nucleic acid base or amino acid residue occurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions, dividing the number of matched positions by the total number of positions in the window of comparison and multiplying the result by 100 to yield the percentage of sequence identity.

An effective amount is defined as that quantity of proteins, microorganism cells, supernatant, whole cell broth, filtrate, cell fraction or extract, metabolite and/or compound alone or in combination with another pesticidal substance that is sufficient to control molluscs. The effective rate can be affected by pest species present, stage of pest growth, pest population density, and environmental factors such as temperature, rain, time of day and seasonality. The amount that will be within an effective range in a particular instance can be determined by laboratory or field tests.

In one embodiment, the protein used in the methods for controlling molluscs has about 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 99.1%, 99.2%, 99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%, 99.6%, 99.7%, 99.8%, 99.9% homology or sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 1.

Also provided are nucleic acid molecules that encode said protein SEQ ID NO: 1. These nucleic acid molecules may be DNA, RNA, cDNA, cRNA or analog sequences. They can be obtained from a Pseudomonas strain or by chemical synthesis or by recombinant methods known in the art. Specifically nucleic acid libraries may be constructed, screened and amplified. For example, a cDNA or genomic library can be screened using a probe based upon the sequence of a polynucleotide disclosed herein. Probes may be used to hybridize with genomic DNA or cDNA sequences to isolate homologous genes in the same or different plant species. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that various degrees of stringency of hybridization can be employed in the assay; and either the hybridization or the wash medium can be stringent.

The nucleic acids of interest can also be amplified from nucleic acid samples using amplification techniques. For instance, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology can be used to amplify the sequences of polynucleotides of the present invention and related genes directly from genomic DNA or cDNA libraries. PCR and other in vitro amplification methods may also be useful, for example, to clone nucleic acid sequences that code for proteins to be expressed, to make nucleic acids to use as probes for detecting the presence of the desired mRNA in samples, for nucleic acid sequencing, or for other purposes. The T4 gene 32 protein (Boehringer Mannheim) can be used to improve yield of long PCR products.

These nucleic acid molecules can be inserted into vectors. The vectors may be expression vectors. Recombinant expression vectors containing a sequence encoding these nucleic acid molecules are thus provided. The expression vector can contain one or more additional polynucleotide sequences, such as but not limited to regulatory sequences, a selection marker, a purification tag, or a polyadenylation signal. Such regulatory elements can include a transcriptional promoter, enhancers, mRNA ribosomal binding sites, or sequences that control the termination of transcription and translation.

Expression vectors, especially mammalian expression vectors, can include one or more non-transcribed elements, such as an origin of replication, a suitable promoter and enhancer linked to the gene to be expressed, other 5′ or 3′ flanking non-transcribed sequences, 5′ or 3′ non-translated sequences (such as necessary ribosome binding sites), a polyadenylation site, splice donor and acceptor sites, recombination sites, or transcriptional termination sequences. An origin of replication that confers the ability to replicate in a specific host may also be incorporated.

The vectors may be used to transform any of a wide array of host cells known to those of skill in the art. Vectors include without limitation, plasmids, phagemids, cosmids, bacmids, bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs), yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs), and baculovirus vectors, as well as other bacterial, eukaryotic, yeast, and viral vectors

The proteins can be obtained, or are obtainable or derived from an organism having the identifying characteristics of a Pseudomonas species, more particularly, from an organism having the identifying characteristics of a strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens or alternatively from an organism having the identifying characteristics of Pseudomonas fluorescens isolate, ATCC 55799 as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 6,194,194. The methods comprise cultivating these organisms and optionally obtaining the proteins by isolating these proteins from the cells of these organisms.

In particular, the organisms are cultivated in nutrient medium using methods known in the art. The organisms can be cultivated by shake flask cultivation, small scale or large scale fermentation (including but not limited to continuous, batch, fed-batch, or solid state fermentations) in laboratory or industrial fermenters performed in suitable medium and under conditions allowing cell growth. The cultivation can take place in suitable nutrient medium comprising carbon and nitrogen sources and inorganic salts, using procedures known in the art. Suitable media may be available from commercial sources or prepared according to published compositions.

After cultivation, a substantially pure culture or whole cell broth comprising said strain, or cell fraction, supernatant, filtrate, compound (e.g., metabolite) and/or extract of or derived from said Pseudomonas protegens can be used in formulating a composition of the present disclosure. Alternatively, after cultivation, the proteins and/or metabolites can be extracted from the culture broth. Alternatively, after cultivation, the cells in the pure culture or whole cell broth may be lysed. The lysed cultivation may be unpurified or purified and used in a formulation for controlling molluscs in a liquid. The purification may vary in degree from removal of cellular debris and/or nucleic acids, to the isolation of specific classes of compounds or individual compounds that are used in a formulation for controlling molluscs in a liquid. In one embodiment, after cultivation, the proteins and/or metabolites are extracted from the culture broth and are used in a formulation for controlling molluscs. Alternatively, after cultivation, a substantially pure cell fraction, supernatant, filtrate, and/or extract of or derived from said strain can be used in formulating a composition for controlling molluscs in a liquid location. Alternatively, after cultivation, one or more proteins and/or metabolites can be extracted and used in formulating a composition for controlling molluscs in a liquid location. The extract can be fractionated by chromatography. Chromatographic fractions can be assayed for toxic activity against, for example, molluscs. This process may be repeated one or more times using the same or different chromatographic methods.

The proteins set forth above can be formulated in any manner. Non-limiting formulation examples include, but are not limited to, emulsifiable concentrates (EC), wettable powders (WP), soluble liquids (SL), aerosols, ultra-low volume concentrate solutions (ULV), soluble powders (SP), microencapsulation, water dispersed granules, flowables (FL), microemulsions (ME), nano-emulsions (NE), etc. In any formulation described herein, percent of the active ingredient is within a range of about 0.01% to 99.99% including each incremental variation in the range even though they are not explicitly listed.

The compositions can be in the form of a liquid, gel or solid. A solid composition can be prepared by suspending a solid carrier in a solution of active ingredient(s) and drying the suspension under mild conditions, such as evaporation at room temperature or vacuum evaporation at 65° C. or lower. A composition can comprise gel-encapsulated active ingredient(s). Such gel-encapsulated materials can be prepared by mixing a gel-forming agent (e.g., gelatin, cellulose, or lignin) with a culture or suspension of live or inactivated Pseudomonas protegens, or a cell-free filtrate or cell fraction of a Pseudomonas protegens culture or suspension, or a spray- or freeze-dried culture, cell, or cell fraction or in a solution of pesticidal compounds used in the method of the invention; and inducing gel formation of the agent.

The composition can additionally comprise a surfactant to be used for the purpose of emulsification, dispersion, wetting, spreading, integration, disintegration control, stabilization of active ingredients, and improvement of fluidity or rust inhibition. In a particular embodiment, the surfactant is a non-phytotoxic non-ionic surfactant which preferably belongs to EPA List 4B. In another particular embodiment, the nonionic surfactant is polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate. The concentration of surfactants may range between about 0.1-35% (including each incremental variation in the range even though they are not explicitly listed) of the total formulation; a preferred range is about 5-25% (including each incremental variation in the range even though they are not explicitly listed)). The choice of dispersing and emulsifying agents, such as non-ionic, anionic, amphoteric and cationic dispersing and emulsifying agents, and the amount employed is determined by the nature of the composition and the ability of the agent to facilitate the dispersion of the proteins of the present disclosure.

In another embodiment, the proteins set forth herein can be used in controlling molluscs, particularly members of the Gastropoda and/or Bivalvia classes and more particularly mussels, snails and slugs.

Methods of Use. The proteins of the present disclosure (SEQ ID No. 1) can be used to control molluscs, particularly, a member of the Gastropoda and/or Bivalvia class, more particularly mussels (e.g., Dreissana species) and/or Gastropoda, particularly, snails, which includes but is not limited to aquatic snails (e.g., Biomphalaria species) and garden snails, including but not limited to brown garden snails, white garden snails (e.g., Cantareus species, Cornu species, Theba species), and/or slugs, including but not limited to gray garden slug (e.g., Deroceras sp.), the banded or three-band slug (e.g., Lehmannia sp.), the tawny slug (e.g., Limacus sp.), and the greenhouse slug (e.g., Milax sp.) in a body of water or on surfaces where molluscs such as mussels, snails and/or slugs gather or alternatively as an anti-fouling agent in paint. In the event that it is used as an antifouling agent in paint, it is present in an anti-vegetative, biocidally effective amount. Surfaces used by molluscs (such as mussels, snails and/or slugs) include but are not limited to plastic, concrete, wood, fiberglass, pipes made of iron and polyvinyl chloride and surfaces covered with paints and/or coatings. Coatings may be formulated from pigments, binders, additives, and/or carrier fluids and are preferably applied in a thin film to provide protection or decoration to a surface. The end product (which contains the active compound) will be used at 10-200 mg/L, more specifically at 25-100 mg/L (ppm) or 25-10000 mg/kg (including each incremental variation in the range even though they are not explicitly listed). It will be applied either as a dry product or suspended in water into pipes, dam structures, holding tanks, and open waters such as streams, lakes, irrigation canals, ponds and lakes through specific application pumps and mixing systems.

Yet in another embodiment, the present disclosure depicts a composition including other metabolites that have molluscicidal activity. For example, lactones and fatty acids as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,968,723.

The present disclosure is also directed to a method comprising a step of administering a composition having a protein (e.g., SEQ ID NO: 1), and in combination of an inert material such as clay to enhance the uptake and hence, mortality of mussels.

Examples of the inert material that may be used in the compositions of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, inorganic minerals such as kaolin, mica, gypsum, phyllosilicates, carbonates, sulfates, or phosphates; or botanical materials such as wood products, cork, powdered corn cobs, rice hulls, peanut hulls and walnut shells. In a particular embodiment, the inert material can be obtained or derived from a clay mineral (kaolinite, smectite, attapulgite) suspended in water at a rate of about 1 to 20 mg/liter corresponding to approximately 1 to 20 NTU (normalized turbidity units). The inert materials used to enhance mussel siphoning can be applied in solid form or as a suspension in aqueous solution, preferably water, directly to the water or the location (e.g., solid surface) where the mussels are treated. In a particular embodiment, to enhance product efficacy, an inert material such as clay, silt, sediment or any other material with no nutritional value and with a small enough particle size can be suspended in water prior to the treatment with a chemical or a biopesticide product.

Conservative Substitutions and Functional Fragments. In comparing amino acid sequences, residue positions which are not identical can differ by conservative amino acid substitutions. Conservative amino acid substitutions refer to the interchangeability of residues having similar side chains. For example, a group of amino acids having aliphatic side chains is glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, and isoleucine; a group of amino acids having aliphatic-hydroxyl side chains is serine and threonine; a group of amino acids having amide-containing side chains is asparagine and glutamine; a group of amino acids having aromatic side chains is phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan; a group of amino acids having basic side chains is lysine, arginine, and histidine; and a group of amino acids having sulfur-containing side chains is cysteine and methionine. With respect to a reference polypeptide sequence, a test polypeptide sequence that differs only by conservative substitutions is denoted a “conservatively substituted variant” of the reference sequence.

A “functional fragment” of a protein, polypeptide or nucleic acid is a protein, polypeptide or nucleic acid whose sequence is not identical to the full-length protein, polypeptide or nucleic acid, yet retains the same function as the full-length protein, polypeptide or nucleic acid. A functional fragment can possess more, fewer, or the same number of residues as the corresponding native molecule, and/or can contain one or more amino acid or nucleotide substitutions. Methods for determining the function of a nucleic acid (e.g., coding function, ability to hybridize to another nucleic acid) are known in the art. Similarly, methods for determining protein function are known. For example, the DNA-binding function of a polypeptide can be determined, for example, by filter-binding, electrophoretic mobility-shift, or immunoprecipitation assays. See Ausubel et al., supra. The ability of a protein to interact with another protein can be determined, for example, by co-immunoprecipitation, two-hybrid assays or complementation, either genetic and biochemical. See, for example, Fields et al. (1989) Nature 340:245 246; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,245 and PCT WO 98/44350.

Typically, a functional fragment retains at least 50% of the activity or function of the polypeptide. In some embodiments, a functional fragment retains at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 99% or 100% (including each incremental variation in the range even though they are not explicitly listed) of the activity or function of the polypeptide.

A functional fragment of a polypeptide can include conservative amino acid substitutions (with respect to the native polypeptide sequence) that do not substantially alter the activity or function of the polypeptide. The term “conservative amino acid substitution” refers to grouping of amino acids on the basis of certain common structures and/or properties. With respect to common structures, amino acids can be grouped into those with non-polar side chains (glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, proline, phenylalanine and tryptophan), those with uncharged polar side chains (serine, threonine, asparagine, glutamine, tyrosine and cysteine) and those with charged polar side chains (lysine, arginine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and histidine). A group of amino acids containing aromatic side chains includes phenylalanine, tryptophan and tyrosine. Heterocyclic side chains are present in proline, tryptophan and histidine. Within the group of amino acids containing non-polar side chains, those with short hydrocarbon side chains (glycine, alanine, valine. leucine, isoleucine) can be distinguished from those with longer, non-hydrocarbon side chains (methionine, proline, phenylalanine, tryptophan). Within the group of amino acids with charged polar side chains, the acidic amino acids (aspartic acid, glutamic acid) can be distinguished from those with basic side chains (lysine, arginine and histidine).

A functional method for defining common properties of individual amino acids is to analyze the normalized frequencies of amino acid changes between corresponding proteins of homologous organisms (Schulz, G. E. and R. H. Schirmer, Principles of Protein Structure, Springer-Verlag, 1979). According to such analyses, groups of amino acids can be defined in which amino acids within a group are preferentially substituted for one another in homologous proteins, and therefore have similar impact on overall protein structure (Schulz, G. E. and R. H. Schirmer, supra). According to this type of analysis, conservative amino acid substitution” refers to a substitution of one amino acid residue for another sharing chemical and physical properties of the amino acid side chain (e.g., charge, size, hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity). Following are examples of amino acid residues sharing certain chemical and/or physical properties:

(i) amino acids containing a charged group, consisting of Glu, Asp, Lys, Arg and His, (ii) amino acids containing a positively-charged group, consisting of Lys, Arg and His, (iii) amino acids containing a negatively-charged group, consisting of Glu and Asp, (iv) amino acids containing an aromatic group, consisting of Phe, Tyr and Trp, (v) amino acids containing a nitrogen ring group, consisting of His and Trp, (vi) amino acids containing a large aliphatic non-polar group, consisting of Val, Leu and Ile, (vii) amino acids containing a slightly-polar group, consisting of Met and Cys, (viii) amino acids containing a small-residue group, consisting of Ser, Thr, Asp, Asn, Gly, Ala, Glu, Gln and Pro, (ix) amino acids containing an aliphatic group consisting of Val, Leu, Ile, Met and Cys, and (x) amino acids containing a hydroxyl group consisting of Ser and Thr.

Certain “conservative substitutions” may include substitution within the following groups of amino acid residues: gly, ala; val, ile, leu; asp, glu; asn, gln; ser, thr; lys, arg; and phe, tyr.

Thus, as exemplified above, conservative substitutions of amino acids are known to those of skill in this art and can be made generally without altering the biological activity or function of the resulting molecule. Those of skill in this art also recognize that, in general, single amino acid substitutions in non-essential regions of a polypeptide do not substantially alter biological activity. See, e.g., Watson, et al., “Molecular Biology of the Gene,” 4th Edition, 1987, The Benjamin/Cummings Pub. Co., Menlo Park, Calif., p. 224.

Polypeptides of the present disclosure encompass those having 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 or more amino acid substitutions compared to an amino acid sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1, e.g., conservative amino acid substitutions. Amino acid residues that can be substituted can be located at residue positions that are not highly conserved. The ordinarily skilled artisan will appreciate that, based on location of the active sites and/or on homology to related proteins, a protein will tolerate substitutions, deletions, and/or insertions at certain of its amino acid residues, without significant change in its overall physical and chemical properties.

Polypeptides of the present disclosure encompass those having an amino acid sequence that is at least 75%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, at least 99%, at least 99.5%, at least 99.8% or 100% identical to any of the polypeptides shown in SEQ ID NO: 1.

Examples. Sample aliquots of whole cell broth were removed from a 100L fermentation of Pseudomonas protegens CL145A at 8, 16, 24.5 and 33 hours (EOF, end of fermentation). The supernatant free whole cell paste was lysed by sonication, and the lysates were examined for activity by live mussel bioassay and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. FIG. 1 is a plot of the mussel mortality of the cell lysates vs. the days of the mussel assay.

Mussel activity of the cell lysates is very low over the first 16 hours of the fermentation and reaches the highest level at the end of the fermentation. SDS-PAGE (FIG. 2) clearly reveals at least three HMW proteins >260 kDa where expression correlates to the mussel mortality in FIG. 1.

The supernatant (SN) from P. protegens EOF cell lysate was fractionated via Q-sepharose anion exchange chromatography and the fractions were bioassayed for mussel killing activity. FIG. 3 is a plot of the fraction activity and FIG. 4 is the SDS-PAGE of the fractions.

The HMW band was excised from an SDS-PAGE gel and submitted to UC Davis proteomics for protein identification via peptide matching. The resultant protein has the following sequence:

(SEQ ID No. 1) MAFMSKDFTRLLNTLIDQQIKTAGRQTEWFNMSADERAAYIGQVGERLLE MQQSTLSVLAAQHYQMQDNPVSVGDQLQVLQQRRKEMKAIADTPATIAYK QQLDRDILLYSRQDTAISHYDSTWNKALRLLSPGGAKAEVLQADAPAKQK ELKGRINRLEKHLSLQVADSTFSQTYVTLFSELQAYKEVSTRYNAWLKAA PQQQAASLDALAKPPRASDELPVNLSLLMMEERPGYIRMNVALVNASTDG REKDFYLEHGRLVVPTDGVLNESFGTAARSLAWQQQYRLKSEPPSMRSPT YAPIRSVLVKTGFVEQYFANHLVSESSLREGFKAQVLSNGRKLLLTGVDR KVPNQVGIQVSGQSPGTSVTREVPLAGALSELINQNADITSFQTLGVEDY RQNSYHPDRDGLFVNIHELERSVGFAEHQYLLEMPQGDAYRSATPFAVMT VEGDKVSSSHLSKAQTETLYQYNAAFFERLEQLRGEGFKASRLFAGSSER ATFVQQLTRLLERNHITPAGVLLAQHSRPSLRDIKGNNLNKVLWEQAFAA SVWQSHDNDELLFGLGQNLVKNQALSKVLQGGYLQSDIAQAKLLLAPLYE QWRAQAIEMETQRVASANAGQHPGNPKVHVFDQVAVERGLDSKLLNLLLS GPQGLAPADVALRPTVEALLSGDQGRSLRKQALFHALRPVADSFSKAAVP VNAHAALTPKTGADKVMINNRLNQPDPYLILNTHPEQARTDAALLIQDDK YRSYSQFRPDPNNEATRYMSDLDTPFVGGISGTTQTVSNALPELFGSAPS IKQYWQFQMANAAFMIRNGYHSFFETLYVAARYEPQGPDSIGKDLLQTFD RYRAQGRREALHGELYDAVMARVLPIVNQGLAPSEEFHPPRFTDLGPLPA LLGQAAKDLQLKTGLASLGAGFEPRQGSADIHQFAADPVQFAQTHTLSAE ALVKAGRLPAQGNVQLVEVAPRLYELEYTEHSANSVSGSPDSVPAYFLGY NGPNQANAAPAYVDIPKQARPGSFLFTGTLSGCSLVVTSLDATTYRVYHD GRVNSSLLYDNVVMAVDYKDYQVAGTAEGLAAAYMQVVDGQWQLVFQRQE YQREGQMVWPKLREGAEPLAIQTADSQVQERNRTQFAEYREQVHQNLKKV ATQFGVSTEGVADGVYSGGDFSPEHPAIAAWNRLRDAVQAKVSADIEQLG NQRYQLQEQRRGASDKRLIDQQIKQLNLTQDFYRAQYEPVLREAASVEKT WLWQQIQAKQGSAAVVRTDDTAIQGGGDERSTSVGERYAIAEAYQRGARG TAFSDGVRDFREIKIPGLDDKKSALEMKRLFLDGQLTPGQRGALSARISE TSQAEYIDKVLRQTATLSEDFRGAGSVFGQLAPQDFYLSLVGDRSGGRCY PLVRAMAVALARGGEAGVNSLVQKLFLASADPQAGSSTLLKNSLIRLHSN VDAVQASKALGQFQLSDVVARLANGSSDSMFALNTQNHSMMVGSTQGPEG RRYYFYDPNVGIFAFDSSKGLAKAMEQHLVRRKLAAHYGSFGSQSQPAFN LVEIDTHKMAEVPVGSGLNVADLSRPEELAGVIGQRRQVEQAVGAQQRVS QDLRLGAALTTFDAEQWGARFDAASTRLAREHQLSSQWIPIIANTEPQPE GGYRVQFINRDQPDQTRWLSTDDGTFVEFRRFVDEHMSVLNEHFTLEHGQ IRPRGGVGEVAHVDGLNAGFAVQTLIQWFADKNRKDAAQGVVSPDLATAL KIHSYLGLAQIGHGTVQDVAKVTELVQTALRGEALAAESSLKDFASTLGH TVNEGAGVLFGGAMVGLDAYELAHAENDVQKAVFGTQLAFDSASFVSGAA GIGAGLIGASTTAAVLGGAGVILGGLAVGFTALAQAFGAVAEDAKAVGRY FDTLDKAYQGNGYRYDEKQQVLVPLAGAVVKRLDLRSNEVGFDSQYIYRT HHGSTGSGAINYFFWVGDFPRMIHDRAQAIEVRSGIGHGAKPPRLDHGDS RTVILPGTPKSYISYEYMILPGATTRHDTGFDVIRKLEQDRRFDYDFYIF PSEETIRRIHQEYVETPVEVLLDGHNRQLVVPQLPKELYGYLRYDIQGAG GEYLIGLNEGTEVRLSNEAGRQPSRWIIDSSQLESDSITVAKDHLLVGGV KVRLDPAQSGQVLLVNAKGEVRAADFAGQTTYVVKEDASQWQVSGQRIEQ HLKELAQAHQLHGQYVVVENYKHGERNVGRAYYEVAKDRMLFTDTDVQQA RNAQLGAVIGEHAYFVDAENAAAWRVDIASGKVDAQFAPAFNQSAGQISR FWQEGDAVYLARRYQLKEREAELSFRILGDRMELVGVVGDESLLQLSASN SQHGKDAKTLLNTLLKGYETQATQRDTPVYSLGAPVLEPTAAELITVFGL DNAKVAHRYWVRSSDGIVIKPNLAPPAGQAPRADAPGQAQSAWQIPADLV LAGSQAQPGGQEVFYFYSKAQQVLFRQEGPGQKVLDAGQPSALRLSTPPL ANVLNLNGHLLAVTNDGRMARIEATGRLSYEAVNEHWLKAHSNWWKNLAE VAGSNATLAVFGVKAADGKSALPVWYHNGQVVVASSALQGKPLQFLGFDS ASASARLFEPESGKLYLQPPLTAQALATAFGKDEVLEASAQLPAAIDWMP KQPLRSAVQVDAGLRLTTVQGEVLLRSNNGDVQLVAVDKGWQQAHLGNLP QALATVAGQWGAKGVLSLQDGDTRGWFDIASGQMFASNGIPGGSDLRFIG VAAGTPNSAYVYSPTAQALYQVKDGKALQLGHYANVERIGSSLLLQGASG NAPQDDLAPPLIAGVDSVVLHGGAGDDTYRFSPAMWAHYRSVVIDNDDPG LALDRVILPVADGKNILVSRRGEDVQLTDTGNGTALVLRQVLGSQAAAHG HLLIELKGDSSMISVEQLLKGFGPSGSAGDSVFELAWSQRETLPAANALS SAADVPDSAADGRGPSLAKLSGAMAAFADTGGAREQLPKNHQAAQAVLVP SLT.

The SEQ ID No. 1 is annotated as cytolysin FitD.

The cytolysin FitD from CL145A (SEQ ID No. 1) can be cloned and expressed in a non-toxic host for molluscicidal activity and to generate active protein to determine specific activity in the CL145A cell via mussel bioassay. A gene knockout of the active strain can also reveal the presence of other mussel/insect toxins.

It is contemplated that any embodiment discussed in this specification can be implemented with respect to any method, kit, reagent, or composition of the invention, and vice versa. Furthermore, compositions of the invention can be used to achieve methods of the invention.

It will be understood that particular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of the invention. The principal features of this invention can be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered by the claims.

The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects.

As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

The term “or combinations thereof” as used herein refers to all permutations and combinations of the listed items preceding the term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. The skilled artisan will understand that typically there is no limit on the number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.

All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling molluscs in a liquid location comprising: administering an effective amount of a composition having protein that is 80% identical to SEQ ID NO:1, to control said molluscs at said liquid location.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said liquid location is a body of water or paint.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the protein has 90% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:1.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the protein has 95% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:1.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the protein has 100% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:1.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said composition further comprises gamma-dodecalactone, delta-tridecalactone, piliferolide A, alpha-heptyl-gamma-butyrolactone or 11-hydroxy-12-ene-octadecanoic acid.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said composition further comprises an inert material.
 8. A composition for controlling molluscs in a liquid location comprising: an effective amount of a composition having protein that is at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO:1, to control said mollusk at said liquid location.
 9. The composition according to claim 8, wherein the protein has 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, 99%, 99.1%, 99.2%, 99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%, 99.6%, 99.7%, 99.8%, 99.9% homology or sequence identity to SEQ ID NO:
 1. 10. The composition according to claim 8, wherein said composition further comprises an inert material. 